Nightline's Last Interview With Paul Newman

The following interview with Paul Newman aired in May 2007. Newman passed away on Friday, Sept. 26 at the age of 83.

He starred as the wry, handsome train robber in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." He played an alcoholic lawyer in "The Verdict" and our hearts reached out to him. His familiar voice made us smile in "Cars."

But now, the legendary actor Paul Newman has joined forces with uber-chef Michel Nischan to create Dressing Room: A Homegrown Restaurant -- an establishment in Westport, Conn., that caters to those with a taste for organic food.

And if you travel to Millstone farm a few miles away in Wilton, Conn., you'll find the garden that provides much of the produce served at the restaurant.

null

Annie Farrell is what you would call a "farmer's farmer," the person you hire if you want to turn your farm organic. Farrell took "Nightline" on a tour of the Millstone farm, and Newman tagged along.

Organic Farming: Part Art, Part Science

It is clear that organic farming is part art, part science. One plant is used to help another grow. The radishes are a case in point.

"So, those radishes and turnips break the ground… they break through that cementy ground and then the carrots follow," said Farrell. "Then I'll renovate, refertilize and reseed this bed with something else."

"Do you think if we put some politicians in there they would sweeten?" Newman quipped. "Let them freeze for awhile and then they'd come up in the spring."

In fact, there is a lot of politics in the food business. After conflict in the Wilton community regarding developers who wanted to buy the Millstone farm, Betsy Fink and her husband Jesse purchased it to save it from development.

'A Homegrown Restaurant'

Newman and Nischan have put their own food politics right on their restaurant's sign. Dressing Room proudly boasts that the establishment is "A Homegrown Restaurant."

One of the principal ingredients served here is a principle of the restaurant itself -- organic food grown close to home is best. Best for the people who eat it, and best for their communities.